Name of the environmental zone: Environmental zone Maine-et-Loire/Angers ZPAd - France
Date of entry into effect of the zone: 08-11-2017
Type of environmental zone: Zone of air protection, depending on weather conditions and activated after an early warning stage, if the pollutant values exceed, for example, > 50 µg/m³ for particulate matter and following the Prefect´s decision.
Not allowed to drive (temporarily): Vehicles without a badge and vehicles with insufficient badge class, depending on the level and duration of the air pollution peak.
Not allowed to drive (permanently): Information currently unavailable
Fines: 68-450 €
Area/extension of the environmental zone: The prefectural order concerns the entire Department of Maine-et-Loire. In case of pollution peak, a specific notification will define the borders of the activated zone and the implemented restrictions. The A11, A84, A85 and N162 highways within the Department of Maine-et-Loire may be affected.
Special features: Depending on the type, duration and level of air pollution, the borders of one or several zones within the department change. The prefect can decide to ban several badge classes from traffic.
Contact of the environmental zone and exceptions: Information currently unavailable
Exemptions: Information currently unavailable
Environmental zone ZPAd
Do I need stickers or registrations?
If there is a peak in air pollution and the ZPAd zone is activated, each affected vehicle requires a valid French environmental sticker (Certificat qualité de l'Air) to enter the low emission zone. Otherwise, a fine of between 68 euros and 375 euros is to be expected.
You can find out whether a ZPAd zone is active and which vignette is affected by the driving ban in our Green-Zones App.
What is a ZPAd zone?
ZPAd ("zone de protection de l'air départementale") are air protection zones that apply to an entire department. It is not possible to define in advance in which local areas within the ZPAd traffic restrictions will occur due to a peak in air pollution. In the event of a peak in air pollution, the respective initial decree provides for specific traffic restrictions, so that only then is the area within the department determined in a specific police decree, in which specific measures are then taken. In theory, even an entire department could be affected by a concrete measure, but this is relatively unlikely.
In any case, the prefect of the department is responsible for imposing driving bans where necessary (e.g. in one or more communes, on a motorway or within the entire department), based on data supplied to him by the regional air protection institute. The Certificat qualité de l'Air Vignette, which must be excluded from traffic, is also decided in these cases.
How do I recognize the low emission zone?
ZPAd zones are only activated temporarily. The size and dimensions of the zone are completely individual. This is determined by the respective prefect, depending on the intensity of air pollution. Therefore there are no special signs for ZPAd zones.
The situation is different for the ZFE zones. There, the beginning and the end of the environmental zones are marked with signs. This shows a red circle as prohibition sign with the remark "Zones à Circulation Restreinte" (Restricted Zone). Who exactly is allowed to enter or not is not indicated by the entry sign.
In our Green Zones App we have a detailed map of each low emission zone. So you can easily see the boundaries and avoid penalties.
Are there other low emission zones in France?
Yes, a lot of them. France has over 30 different environmental zones. These differ in ZFE (permanent), ZPA (temporary) and ZPAd (temporary département) zones.
In our Green Zones App we have gathered together all the low emission zones in Europe and presented them clearly.
Good to know...
All current driving bans and further information are available in our Green-Zones App.
No diesel driving bans in Düsseldorf
There will be no diesel driving bans in Düsseldorf. Gate traffic lights and 30 km/h zones are to regulate traffic in the city on the Rhine in the future. A focus is also to be placed on bus and bicycle traffic. Thus, the last dispute about diesel driving bans in North Rhine-Westphalia has been settled.
The real air polluters
Low emission zones and diesel driving bans are locking more and more vehicles out of European cities. Ships and planes, which also contribute to air pollution, are mostly not regulated at all. In Hamburg, for example, ships on the Elbe cause pollution equivalent to an unfathomable 1.42 million diesel vehicles. What is the point of the diesel ban there?
Why is there no EU sticker?
The European Union's Air Quality Directive 2008/50/EC sets limits on air pollutants such as nitrogen oxide and particulate matter. Like other EU directives, however, it does not specify what countries must do to comply with the limit values. Each country can legislate itself and take measures to comply with EU law.
Ban of combustion vehicles in California
From 2035, the US state of California wants to ban the registration of new internal combustion vehicles. Unlike in European countries, where a date for the phase-out has also been set in many places, some motorbikes, among others, are also affected.
Bulgaria's first environmental zone
The Bulgarian government is declaring war on air pollution in the capital. Over the next few years, about one billion euros are to be invested in improving air quality. An environmental zone that only allows vehicles with Euro standard 3 and better to enter would be the first in the country.
The Green-Zones Multishop is online!
Order all stickers and registrations for Europe, for all vehicles at once? Now you can only do that with us:
Driving bans: Relaxations in Berlin, possible extensions for many other cities
The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig ruled in the last week of May on air quality rulings against the cities of Hamburg, Ludwigsburg and Kiel. Further diesel driving bans are not ruled out.
New stricter regulations for Paris and Nancy
More and more environmental zones are coming into force in France this year. But existing zones are also being continuously expanded. Since the beginning of the month, there have been innovations in Paris and Nancy.
Diesel driving bans for Germany
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ZFE, ZPA and ZPAd? French Low Emission Zones explained
There are different environmental zones in France. Some of the zones are permanently active, while others are only temporary. The latter are also called weather-related air protection zones, whereby the word "weather" does not refer to a specific weather condition such as sunshine or rain, but to the air quality, which often goes hand in hand with the weather.